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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
Scientists play with fire aboard trash-filled cargo spacecraft
This afternoon, NASA started a fire aboard a trash-filled cargo spacecraft, but it was all in the name of science. Engineers at the agency's Glenn Research Center are studying how large-scale fires spread in space.
Red Dragon and Planetary Exploration
If SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft becomes a standard catalog item that could ordered, the way a launch vehicle is, what might the impact be on planetary exploration?
Take a look inside the station's new expandable module with astronaut Jeff Williams
BEAM, the International Space Station's new expandable habitat module, is open for business. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka entered the module at 4:47 a.m. EDT (9:47 UTC) this morning.
Follow a space shuttle tank through LA with this timelapse video
This timelapse video follows some of the space shuttle external tank's 19-hour journey from Marina del Rey to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
BEAM expanded and pressurized: Your news, commentary and tweet roundup
BEAM is expanded and pressurized! The International Space Station's newest module, which will serve as a technology demonstrator for in-space expandable habitats, was fully filled with air this afternoon.
Lunar Farside Landing Plans
Phil Stooke describes a research trip to the Regional Planetary Image Facility at the USGS in Flagstaff, where he discovered Jack Schmitt's proposed plans for a farside landing site for Apollo 17.
With retry scheduled tomorrow, NASA and Bigelow say BEAM will work—it's just a question of when
NASA will try again tomorrow to expand BEAM, the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. During a press teleconference this afternoon, officials said they were confident the module was going to expand—it's just a question of when.
Space station module expansion called off after BEAM doesn't budge
NASA and Bigelow Aerospace weren't able to get the space station's newest module up and running this morning. Another attempt could come as early as Friday.
Tomorrow morning, watch a new space module inflate—er, expand
NASA is set to fill a new space station module called BEAM with air Thursday morning. But does BEAM inflate, or expand?
Shuttle tank caps 41-day journey with trip through streets of Los Angeles
After a 41-day journey marked by stormy seas, a trip through the Panama Canal and a rescue off the Baja California coast, the last unflown space shuttle external fuel tank has arrived at its new home here in Los Angeles.
Lockheed Proposes to have Humans Orbiting Mars by 2028
Lockheed Martin proposed a system to send humans to orbit Mars in the year 2028—a concept that shares many core values with The Planetary Society's report, Humans Orbiting Mars, we released last year.
Pictures and video: After dramatic sea rescue, shuttle tank berths safely in San Diego
Two-and-a-half days after a dramatic sea rescue, the tugboat crew hauling a space shuttle fuel tank to California bid farewell to some unexpected passengers last night in San Diego.
Tugboat hauling shuttle tank to California rescues passengers of sunk fishing vessel
The crew of the tugboat hauling the last unflown space shuttle external fuel tank to California reports they have rescued four passengers from a fishing boat that sunk off the coast of Mexico.
All the way to orbit: After 35 years, is the RS-25 still the Ferrari of rocket engines?
The RS-25 powered the space shuttle for three decades, and will soon be used on the Space Launch System. Is it still the Ferrari of rocket engines? A deep dive on performance, reliability and the politics of rocket science.
What NASA Can Learn from SpaceX
SpaceX's announcement that it will send Dragon capsules to Mars demonstrates the advantage of having a clear plan to explore the red planet. NASA should take note.
Shuttle tank, meet canal: Engineering wonders cross paths in Panama
Two modern engineering marvels crossed paths this week here in Central America, as the last unflown space shuttle external fuel tank passed through the Panama Canal during a multi-week voyage from New Orleans to Los Angeles.
LPSC 2016: The Moon Keeps on Giving
There was no shortage of interesting lunar science talks at last month’s Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Dr. Ryan Clegg-Watkins highlights some of the interesting results for us.
Does Presidential Intervention Undermine Consensus for NASA?
Presidents induce polarization on topics they choose to promote. So is the best way for a President to promote consensus in NASA to speak quietly?
Full-circle ceremony sends last shuttle tank to sea
The last unflown space shuttle fuel tank is underway to California, following a full-circle ceremony in view of hardware built for the shuttle's heavy lift successor, the Space Launch System.
Last unflown space shuttle tank heads seaward for new mission
The last unflown space shuttle external fuel tank was loaded onto a barge at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility Sunday in New Orleans. It will ship to the California Science Center in Los Angeles to be joined with space shuttle Endeavour.